Real Estate Update for Clark County WA - November 2019

Strong Real Estate Sales Results for Clark County WA in November 2019.

Prices showed relative strength, while Unit Sales are now nicely above last year's posting at this time of the year. Inventory continues to slide. Here are the key points for this month's report: 

• Average-Sales Price slipped about $500 to  $404,034, with the 12-month/long-term trend line up 3.73% year-over-year;  with the 3-Month Moving Average up 3.4% from this time last year (up a small amount from last month); 
   
• The Inventory for Resale Real Estate slipped 0.4 months to a  much lower 1.3 Months of Supply;
   
• Approximately 526 Resale Properties closed in the month, which is about 30 more (6.05%) homes than in 2018; and 58 fewer than last month;
   
• REO/Bank Owned property sales were 5 units (0.95% of total); down from 3 (0.6%) in 2018; 
   
• Short Sale /Pre-Foreclosure property sales were 1 unit (0.19% of total); up from 0 (0%) in 2018.

Home Mortgage month-end, 30-year-fixed loan interest rate (nationwide average) rose slightly to 3.70% (Up from 3.69% last month) according to Freddie Mac; compared to 4.87% for November 2018. The current rate level will likely remain in this range for the near term.

My custom chart below for Unit-Volume (number of properties sold) that shows the short term (in Red) and long term (12-month moving average in Blue) trends: 

Clark County Home Sales - Units Sold Trend November 2019

The stronger, later-in-the-season sales have pushed the short-term's peak for this year to a higher level than last year; with the long-term trend in an upward direction vs. a downward direction. Both signs we're still in a Seller's, rising market.  

Next we have the Average Home Sales Price trend-chart, highlighting the current and historical Home-Sales-Price results in both short-term and long-term: 

Clark County Home Sales - Average Sales Price Trend November 2019

Prices once again this month are slowly drifting downwards, and in a slower manner than we usually see for this time of year. I believe that the low inventory and relatively strong demand is making this season's prices not-as-soft as we might typically see.

The Average Sales Price (using 3 months) for Clark County is now $404,034; which is an increase of approximately $14,522 from this time last year.

The final charts for this report come from RMLS and show:

Clark County Home Sales Inventory
& Days on Market - November 2019

New Listings aren't keeping up with Pending Sales and Closed Sales, even though all moved lower; causing the level of Active Inventory to shrink quite a bit. 

The second graph shows both Average List prices coming in quite strong again, while Sales Prices were at a high level as well.

Finally, Average Days on Market and Median Days on the Market moved upwards by a few days each.
You will also find posted the recent RMLS published report on the Clark County real estate market here: RMLS Market Action Report on our main website.

Thank you for visiting our Real Estate Sales report for Clark County WA. Please let us know if you have any questions or need help with your home or condo!

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PS - The real estate market is changing, prices are softer with loan costs presently at very low levels, keeping this an excellent time to List and Sell Your Property with Our Team; or, at least find out what your property is worth!  We offer a no-cost, no-obligation Clark County WA Home Valuation, and invite you to try it out!

PPS - Looking to buy a property reasonably soon?  Interest rates are still at historically low rates.  You are invited to visit our web-page for Clark County WA Homes For Sale where it is Quite Easy to search by City, Neighborhood or by Category, with homes and real estate listings from the entire RMLS.  Sign-up Not Required!  The property and home listings shown are provided via many updates each day, and you will be e-mailed hourly with any new matches once you've signed up for a home search.

We also have the MLS Listings for these great towns in Clark County:  Battle Ground WA Real Estate For Sale | Brush Prairie WA Homes For Sale | Camas WA Homes for Sale | Hockinson WA Homes For Sale | La Center WA Homes for sale | Ridgefield WA Homes for sale | Real Estate for sale in Vancouver Washington | Washougal WA Real Estate | Yacolt WA Homes For Sale | Amboy WA Homes For Sale

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The information and charts in this Clark County WA real estate update (prepared by Vancouver WA Home Sales Broker, John Slocum, CRS, SFR, our resident statistician) are based on home sales recorded in the Clark County WA MLS system (RMLS), excluding sales of mobile home; and shows the purchase activity since 2009; charting the 3 month Moving average number of sales, and the 12 month Moving average.  This "smoothing" of the trend-data helps illustrate the short-term and longer term trends in Clark County's real estate market.

Disclaimer: as with any real estate statistics, we do our best to provide the best representation at the time the data was acquired and compiled.  The data and reports are deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Seven Reasons to Own a Home in Today's Market

7 Great Reasons to Own a Home in Today's Market in Vancouver and Clark County WA:  

Some people don't need a reason to buy a home, they just want it.  That can be enough justification by itself.  Other people need some solid logic before they're ready to make the commitment.  The following reasons might help you to make a decision.

1.    Pride of ownership ... among the most popular reasons given by homebuyers is that they want a place they can call their own and decorate and improve it the way they want.  It is a place to feel safe and secure and a place for their family.  They can share it with their friends and enjoy living in it.

2.    Good investment ... Homeowners have a 80 times greater net worth than renters.  By investing in a home that appreciates over time, it contributes to an increasing equity.  The high loan to value mortgages that are available combined with the low mortgage rates also contribute to the investment through leverage which has been described as "using other people's money" to control an investment.

3.    Interest and property tax deductibility ... Homeowners can deduct their qualified mortgage interest and up to a maximum of $10,000 of their property taxes as itemized deductions on their federal income tax return.  In some instances, the standard deduction may benefit them more, but they can elect to choose either method each year, whichever helps them the most.

4.    Capital gain exclusion ... A single homeowner can exclude up to $250,000 of capital gain and if married filing jointly, can exclude up to $500,000 of gain on their principal residence.  The need to have owned and occupied it as their home for two of the last five years.

5.    Cash out refinance ... Generally speaking, a lender will allow an owner with good credit and income to borrow the difference in their current unpaid balance and 80% of the fair market value.  This money can be used for any purpose and is not a taxable event.

6.    Equity buildup ...The difference in the value of the home and the unpaid mortgage balance is called equity and it increases with each payment made.  It is like automatic savings.

7.    No landlords ... Instead of dealing with landlords who may impose restrictions on things like painting, improvements and pets.  Owners are not concerned about rent increases and will have a fixed principal and interest payment for as long as they have a mortgage.

A bonus reason to buy a home now are the low mortgage rates available. The lowest rate recorded by Freddie Mac is 3.35% in December 2012.  Today's rates are 3.75% on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage and 3.21% on a 15-year fixed rate mortgage.  So, they are certainly very close to all-time lows.
The highest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 18.45% in October 1981.  When you put today's rates in perspective, they are an incredible bargain.  Many industry experts expect that they will not remain as low as they are now.  Locking in a low rate can keep your housing costs low.
A $275,000 mortgage at 3.75% for 30 years has a principal and interest payment of $1,273.57.  If the rate goes up by 1%, the payment would increase to $1,434.53 or $160.96 per month for the 30-year term.

If you are currently renting, and have seen your rental rate go up every year (if not, you'd perhaps better check out the recent newspaper article on that!), and would like help with a Rent vs Owning calculation, please contact me and I'll be glad to help with that!